Tractor.



. HNNOLD.

TRACTOR.

APPLIGATXQN FILED MAR.7,1913.

LBBQQ Patened Mar. 2, 1915.

s SHEETS-SHEET 1y F. HUNNOLD.

TRACTOR. APPLIOATION FILED MAR: A1913.

Patented Mar. 2, 11915.

- F. HONNOLD.

TRACTOR. v APPLICATION. FILED MAR.7,1913.

3h91 @@9285, Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

IINITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK HoNNoLD, F CLIMBING HILL, IOWA, AssIerNon4 or oNEJrHRD TOIRAVERMILYEA. 0F cmi/mmm HILL, IOWA.

TRACTOR.

l Application led March 7, 1913. Serial No. 752,723.

To aZZ w/wm t may concern.' Be it known that I, FRANK IiloNNoLD, citizenof the United States, residing at Climbing Hill, in the county ofWoodbury and Si particular object of the present invenn tion is to soimprove the arrangement of the parts of the tractor that it may beeasily steered and caused to turn sharp corners without employing theusual complicated systems of gearing.y

A further object of the invention is to provide a tractor byl which thedraft will lie applied directly to the vehicle or implement to which thetractor is coupled.

A further'object of the invention 1s to provide -a tractor of simpleconstruction which will readily support an engine of any desired powerand weight and which will travel over a eld without injuring youngplants and respond quickly to the steering wheel. 1-

These `several stated objects, and'such other incidental objects as willappeari'rom the following description, arev attained in a tractor suchas is illustrated in the'drawings, and the invention` consists incertain novel features which will be particularly pointed out in theclaims following the de.- scription.

In the drawings; Figure 1 is a side elevation of theimprove tractorvcoupled Ito a wheeled cultivator; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tractor;Fig. '3 is a transverse sectional elevation, the sectional portion beingshown on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is afdetail sectional. View ofthe steering'post; Fig. 5 is a detail view of the supports for the axleand its spindle; Fig. 6 is adetail perspec tive view of the bearingblock for the upper portion oit-the spindle and the -driving andsteering shafts: Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the bea-ringblock upon the tongue; Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view ottl a drawbar which may be sometimes used.

In carrying out my invention, I employ an arched beam l1 which serves asthe connection between the. axle spindles and asthe main support of theframe and has secured Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

to its opposite ends half sleeves 2 which encircle the spindles 3 whichare formed in- 'tegralwith and at right angles to the axles 4. Thetraction wheels 5 are fitted upon the axles 4'and areheld thereon by theusual dust-caps and lock-nuts, as will be readily understood. Rigid withthe hub 6 of the traction wheel is a beveled vgear wheel 7 through whichpower is imparted to the wheel to rotate' the same in the operation ofthe tractor. The-lower end of the spindle 3 passes through a brace 8which is bolted to the arched cross bar 1 at the end of the archedportion thereof and between the sleeves 2 and the end of the brace 8collars or blocks 9 are fitted. These blocks 9 are provided withvertical openings 10 and in their opposed faces have notchesor grooves11 whereby the blocks' may be tted upon the spindles 3 and engage theaxles 4 extending therefrom so as to fill the space between the sleeves2 and the braces 8, with the outer flat ends of the blocks bearingagainst the inner face of the gear wheel 7. The blocks, consequently,serve to prevent the gear wheel and the traction wheel moving axiallyinward, and, at the same time, if the spindle be rotated, the gear wheeland the traction wheel will be positively swung to an angle with thelongitudinal axis of the tractor so that the tractor will be caused toturn to one side. The main frame 12 of the tractor is,` formed of anglebars and is substantially rectangular in plan view with rearwardlyconverging portions 13 which are bolted to opposite sides of' the tongue14, thefront end of the tongue being secured in a socket 15 which isrigidly secured to the arched portionof the bar or beam l at the apex ofthe same, as will be readily understood. Between the converging portions13 of the mainframe is a cross bar 16, and'longitudinal sills or beams17 are secured to the said cross bar and to the front bar of the frame,as shown most clearly in Fig. 2. lVhere these longitudinal b'eamsorsills 17 pass over the arched frame 'l'they are connected with the sameyby brackets 18 which L no Y having the usual steering wheel 56 at itsrear end and receiving an inner member or angular bar 57 Which isprovided with a longitudinal series of perforations 58 through any oneof which the fastening bolt 59 may be inserted in order to adjust thesteering bar to the particular implement to which the tractor iscoupled. The front end of the inner member 57 of the steering post isconnected by a universal joint 60 With a 'short shaft 61 .journaled in asuitable box or bearing 62 on the upper side of the tongue and equippedat its front end with abevel pinion 63 meshing with the master wheel 51,as shown. It Will thus be seen that if the steering post be rotated themaster gear wheel 51 will be actuated and the movement of the masterwheel will be transmitted directly to the pinions' 50 so that the shafts47 and the pinions 49 thereon will be rotated. As the pinions 49 are inmesh with the bevel gears 44, the said gears will be actuated and thespindles 3 will be turned so that one axle 4 will be swung eitherforwardly or rearwardly and the other axle will be swung in the oppositedirection so that the traction wheels will both be turned to an anglewith the main frame, while preserving their parallelism and,consequently, the tractor .may be quickly turned to one side and steeredaround sharp curves or corners.

It-is thought the use and advantages of the tractor will be readilyunderstood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings. The tongue 14 of the tractor is c oupled to thetongue or running gear of the wagon or agricultural implement which isto be drawn, and any ordinary-form of clip may be uti- .lized for thispurpose. If a very heavy load is to be drawn, a cross bar 64 may bebolted to the ends of the arch of thc main cross bar 1 and chainsor-otherl draft devices attached' to the said draw-bar and to thevehicle, as will be readilyv understood. The tractor having been coupledto the agricultural implement, the wagon, or other portable Inachine,the engine is started and power transmitted through intermediate gearingto the traction wheels so that the said traction vvheelswill be rotatedand the apparatus caused to travel over the ground. As the engine issupported in advance of theaxle, itsweight will tend to counter-balancethe weight of the machine to which the tractor is attached so that thepower will be utilized economically and will not be Wasted in preservingthe balance of the tractor and the machine will travel smoothly andeasily and respond quickly to the steering mechanism.I Inasmuch as thespindles which eii'ect the steering are also the centers about which thedriving gears rotate, the partsare arranged..

very cmpactly and .the traction wheels may be easily and quickly turnedso as to cause the tractor to travel around. sharp curves or corners. y

It will be noted that the driving Wheels are also the steering wheels sothatl the tractor needs only a single pair of wheels and a shortcoupling will connect the machine to be propelled with the power topropel it. The arched form of the main beam or cross bar enables thetractor to clear young plants and the draft is not so heavy as to packthe earth at the sides of the rows.

1. In a tractor, the combination cf a cross bar, traction wheelssupporting said bar, a'

with pinionsmeshing with the gears on the spindles, pinions at the rearends of the steering shafts, a master gear lmounted at the rear of theframe and meshing with said pinions, ,and means for rotating said mastergear.

3. In a tractor, the .combination of a frame, spindles mountedvertically in the frame, axles rigid with the spindles and extendinglaterally therefrom, traction wheels mounted on the axles, gears rigidwith the upper ends of the spindles,irearwardly converging steeringshafts mounted on thc frame, pinions at the frontends of said shaftsmeshing With the gears at theupper ends of the spindles, pinions on therear end of said shafts, a master gear meshing with said pinions, asteering post mounted in rear of the master gear, and a pinion on thelfront end of the steering post meshing with the master gear.

4. In a tractor, the combination of a cross bar, a brace secured to anddiverging downwardly from the cross bar, a spindle mounted vertically inthe cross bar and the brace, an axle rigid with and extending laterallyfrom they spindle between the cross bar and the brace, filling blocksfitted around the axle and the spindle between the cross bar and thebrace, a traction wheel on the axle, and means for turning the spindle.

5. In a tractor, the combinationv of a frame, a tongue extendingrearwardly therefrom, traction wheels supporting the frame, a mastergear disposed horizontally on the tongue, steering shafts on ,the frame,gearjournaled ing between said shafts and the traction Wheels,'pinionson said shaftsmeshingwith the master gear, and means for rotating.

`and themain shaft to rotate the Wheels,

steering shafts mounted on the frame and having their front endsjournaled inl the rear sides of said boxes, means' for simultaneouslyrotating said steering shafts, pinions `on said steering shafts adjacentsaid boxes,.and pinions fixed on the upper ends of the spindles andmeshing With said pin-` ions on the 'steering shafts.

7. A tractor comprising a main beam, traction Wheels mounted atv theends of said beam, a frame secured upon said beam and projectinginadvance of the same to support a motor, a tongue secured to andprojecting rearwardly from the beam, and steering mechanism supported bythe tongue and the rear portion of the frame.

8. A tractor comprising an arched beam, f

sills secured to and projecting forwardly and rearwardly from said beam,`a tongue 'having its front end secured to said beam,

a main frame secured to the front andrear ends of the sills and havingrearwardly cong verging portions secured to the tongue, braces extendingfrom the archedl beam to the front of the frame, braces extending fromthe arched beam to the tongue, braces extending from the ends of thebeam to the sides of the frame, spindles mounted in .the ends of thebeam andthe sides of the frame,

' traction Wheels carried by said spindles, and

means supported by the tongue and the rear portion ofthe frame to rotatethe spindles and steer the traction Wheels.

, In testimony whereof I affix my signature `in presence of twoWitnesses.

. FRANK HON'NOLD lfVitnesses:

W. L. FULToN, IRA Vninwnmma.`

(oplesiot-` this patent may be obtainedffor v-e cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

